Final Three
For the first time in many years, the final three - Steven Jones, Daniel Weinman and Adam Walton (left to right) - all hail from the United States of America.

With just three days of action remaining at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris casinos in Las Vegas, it was time for arguably the most exciting day on the poker calendar for fans of the game. The Main Event final table kicked off with the first of two days of play, and the final nine were whittled down to three in swift order, setting the stage for a deep-stacked final day in the quest for the title of Main Event champion and a record-setting $12.1 million payday.

Jones Claims Lead in Main Event; All-American Trio Remains

At the start of the two-day final table of the 2023 WSOP Main Event, a triumvirate of Americans stood tall atop the leaderboard. The order changed slightly, but Steven Jones (238 million), Daniel Weinman (199 million) and Adam Walton (165.5 million) were able to outlast the six other international players in a brisk 116-hand Day 9, locking up a guaranteed payday of $4 million and keeping their hopes of a record $12.1 million payout alive.

Italy’s Daniel Holzner came into the final table eighth in chips, and fell to last after getting his aces cracked by Jan-Peter Jachtmann’s top set. Holzner was able to secure one short stack double, but a few hands later, the Italian three-bet shoved for his last 11 big blinds with AdJc, and Jones made the call with TsTh. A dry QcQs3h2h4s board spelled the end of Holzner’s run, and he exited the Thunderdome as the last player to earn a six-figure score.

It took just two hands to go from eight to seven, as Day 7 chip leader Juan Maceiras ripped his last 11 big blinds in with Kh9c from middle position, and Toby Lewis woke up with AdTh in the big blind and put Maceiras at risk with a call. There was even less drama in the second elimination of the day, as a 2sAsJs flop left Maceiras looking for running cards to survive. No such luck would come on the 4c turn, and the meaningless Kc river fell to officially end the Spaniard’s run in eighth for $1.125 million.

Despite the elimination, Lewis still resided in the bottom of the chip counts, and seven hands later, found his Main Event life on the line. Jones opened the action with a min-raise from the hijack with TsTh, the exact same hand he eliminated Holzner with. After Walton called in the cutoff with 9c8c, Lewis three-bet shoved for his last 22 big blinds with KsJc. Jones called, and Walton got out of the way. The tens once again faced no adversity on a clean 7c3sAhAs2c runout, and the most accomplished player remaining at the final table had to settle for a career-high $1.425 million consolation prize for his seventh-place performance.

Level 39 had one more victim left to claim on the final hand, which saw the UK’s Dean Hutchinson get his last 14 big blinds in from the button with 5d5c, only to run into the 7s7h of Jachtmann in the big blind. Another drama-free Jc9s2hAs4d board felted Hutchinson in sixth for $1.85 million.

Ruslan Prydryk was left as the short stack of the five remaining players, but managed a quick double through Jones to earn some breathing room. The big stacks started leaning on the Ukrainian, however, and he was ground down to just twelve big blinds when he ripped in QcTc from the hijack. Weinman woke up with AsJd in the cutoff and called, and binked top two pair on a 2sJsAh flop. Prydryk still had hope with a gutshot, and added some outs with the Qs turn, but his tournament came to an end on the 8d river, leaving him with fifth-place and $2.4 million for his efforts.

The day was originally supposed to come to a close when four players remained, but due to the speed at which the final four was reached, play continued on. Jachtmann lost a chunk of his stack after min-raising the Ks8d on the button and being called by Jones and his KcTs in the big blind. Jones check-called 5 million on a innocuous 3h3c6d flop, and hit the Tc on the turn. Jones checked again, setting the trap for Jachtmann, who stepped in and fired 20.5 million of his remaining 74.5 million. Jones check-raised all in, prompting a swift fold from the now short-stacked Jachtmann.

Two hands later, Jachtmann three-bet shoved for his last 27 big blinds with KdQh over an open from Jones and a call from Walton. Unfortunately for the German, Walton was trapping with AsAd, and Jachtmann was dead by the turn of a 2c9s5h6sKc board, leaving the former WSOP gold bracelet winner as the final elimination of Day 9.

The final three will return for Monday’s final day of play with plenty of play, as Jones (119 big blinds), Weinman (99.5 big blinds) and Walton (83 big blinds) all command massive stacks. Jones and Walton will be looking for their maiden bracelets, while Weinman will hope to add his second bit of WSOP gold to his coffers on Tuesday night.

WSOP 2023 Event #76: $10,000 Main Event World Championship Final Table Results:
Place Player Country Chips/Prize
1st Steven Jones USA 238,000,000
2nd Daniel Weinman USA 199,000,000
3rd Adam Walton USA 165,500,000
4th Jan-Peter Jachtmann Germany $3,000,000
5th Ruslan Prydryk Ukraine $2,400,000
6th Dean Hutchinson Scotland $1,850,000
7th Toby Lewis United Kingdom $1,425,000
8th Juan Maceiras Spain $1,125,000
9th Daniel Holzner Italy $900,000

 

Smith Denies Pupillo Second Bracelet in Mixed Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo

A trio of talented mixed game aficionados returned for a bonus day of play in Event #87: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, and despite returning as the short stack, Canada’s Bradley Smith went on a tear to earn his first WSOP gold bracelet and $221,733, outlasting Nick Pupillo, who already earned his first WSOP gold bracelet this summer in the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw event, and Nghia “3 Putts” Le, who notched his second podium finish in the 2023 WSOP. 

WSOP 2023 Event #87: $2,500 Mixed Omaha/Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Final Table Leaderboard:
Place Player Country Prize
1st Bradley Smith Canada $221,733
2nd Nghia “3 Putts” Le USA $137,039
3rd Nick Pupillo USA $94,681
4th Omar Mehmood USA $66,605
5th Timothy Frazin USA $47,721
6th Jonah Seewald USA $34,836
7th Philip Sternheimer USA $25,919
8th Yuval Bronshtein Israel $19,662

 

Shum Speeds to Victory in The Closer

Day 2 of Event #88: $1,500 The Closer saw a field of 258 players return, and it took thirteen hours for Pierre Shum to emerge victorious over a stacked final table, defeating the accomplished Missouri native Peter Nigh in heads-up play to earn his first WSOP bracelet and $606,810. Lisa Hamilton (10th – $47,160), Preston McEwen (11th – $47,160), Chris Moorman (15th – $29,910) and Dan Sindelar (26th – $24,060) all managed to make deep runs in the turbo format.

WSOP 2023 Event #88 The Closer Final Table Results:
Place Player Country Prize
1st Pierre Shum USA $606,810
2nd Peter Nigh USA $376,420
3rd Roongsak Griffeth USA $284,030
4th Jack Duong USA $215,650
5th Amirpasha Emami Canada $164,750
6th Mihai Niste Romania $126,660
7th Jixue Yin USA $100,120
8th Peter Hengsakul USA $76,300
9th Sanjeev Kapoor USA $59,790

 

Reard in Command in Six-Max Championship

Event #90: $10,000 6-Handed No Limit Hold’em Championship couldn’t find a winner after three days of play, and four hopefuls will return for an extended Day 4 tomorrow to crown a champion. Alexandre Reard (18.45 million) has the other three players covered with his monster stack, meaning Stephen Chidwick (6.95 million), AJ Kelsall (4.5 million) and Justin Liberto (3.1 million) have their work cut out for them. Eric Baldwin (6th – $155,809), Phil Hellmuth (9th – $86,118), Felipe Ramos (13th – $51,951) and Taylor Paur (19th – $41,748) all managed nice paydays for their three days of play.

WSOP 2023 Event #90: $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship Final Table Results:
Place Player Country Chips/Prize
1st Alexandre Reard France 18,450,000
2nd Stephen Chidwick United Kingdom 6,950,000
3rd AJ Kelsall USA 4,500,000
4th Justin Liberto USA 3,100,000
5th Eli Berg USA $216,319
6th Eric Baldwin USA $155,809

 

Eighteen Remain in $3k H.O.R.S.E.

Day 2 of Event #91: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. saw a field of 195 returning players play all the way down to just 18 after a full day of action, with Leonard August (1,926,000) holding a slim lead over Nick Guagenti (1,700,000). Plenty of familiar mixed game names remain on the leaderboard, including Todd Brunson (1,285,000), Barbara Enright (1,040,000), Kevin Gerhart (966,000) and Chad Eveslage (785,000), while Ari Engel (38th – $5,330), Mike Matusow (39th – $5,330), and Jen Harman (41st – $5,330) had to settle for a small cash.

WSOP 2023 Event #71: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. Leaderboard:
Place Player Country Chips
1st Leonard August USA 1,926,000
2nd Nick Guagenti USA 1,700,000
3rd Calvin Anderson USA 1,388,000
4th Todd Brunson USA 1,285,000
5th Barbara Enright USA 1,040,000
6th Kevin Gerhart USA 966,000
7th Chad Eveslage USA 785,000
8th Diego Cordovez USA 690,000
9th Ryan Miller USA 607,000
10th Umeme Hoye USA 529,000

 

Steinman Stays Hot in $1k Freezeout

The final freezeout on the 2023 WSOP schedule kicked off with Event #92: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout, and 1,710 players entered the fray in hopes of securing one of the last bracelets of the summer. Ian Steinman is no stranger to accumulating stacks, and did so again with a chip-leading bag of 883,000. Dylan Wilkerson (691,000), Bin Weng (611,000), Mustapha Kanit (393,000), and Benny Glaser (266,000) also survived among the 124 who will return for Day 2.

WSOP 2023 Event #92: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em Freezeout Leaderboard:
Place Player Country Chips
1st Ian Steinman USA 883,000
2nd Dylan Wilkerson USA 691,000
3rd Nikolai Tulin Russia 646,000
4th Jose Carlos Brito Portugal 629,000
5th John Riordan USA 611,000
6th Bin Weng USA 611,000
7th Daniyal Gheba USA 567,000
8th German Moreno Columbia 556,000
9th Jared Passanante USA 555,000
10th James Lim USA 542,000

 

Nakanishi Looks to Defend $10k Short Deck Title

Day 1 of Event #93: $10,000 Short Deck Championship saw a small field of just 84 players take to the felt for the 36-card deck fun, and just 31 were able to secure a bag. Ivan Ermin (411,000) earned the chip lead, but all eyes will be on returning champ Shota Nakanishi (346,000), who needed two bullets to spin up his impressive stack. Other notables remaining include John Juanda (240,900), Chris Brewer (213,700), Sam Soverel (157,000) and Brian Rast (128,900).

WSOP 2023 Event #71: $10,000 Short Deck Championship Leaderboard:
Place Player Country Chips
1st Ivan Ermin Russia 411,000
2nd Nobuaki Sasaki Japan 378,300
3rd Martin Nielsen United Kingdom 346,800
4th Shota Nakanishi Japan 336,300
5th Eric Wasserson USA 310,000
6th Robert James USA 265,500
7th John Juanda Indonesia 240,900
8th Dong Chen China 238,800
9th Dario Sammartino Italy 217,900
10th Chris Brewer USA 213,700

 

Jason Clarke has 30 years of Main Event grinds in his future after winning the WSOP Main Event for Life drawing:

Phil Hellmuth has two more chances to pad his WSOP bracelet record, and seems up to the task:

We have a hunch who Matt Glantz is rooting for at the Main Event Final Table:


Truer words have never been said about the WSOP:

Nick Schulman’s smooth voice for commentary was missed by Rob Kuhn:

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